School Day Count Routine

Each day a student adds one straw or craft stick to the ones pocket or cup.   The student holds up each straw in the ones pocket and leads the class in an oral count.   The student and class decide if they have enough straws to make a bundle (of ten) to move to the tens place.   Students will quickly begin to make predictions that "tomorrow is a bundle day" or "Friday will be a bundle day."   


After leading the class in an oral count of straws in all pockets, the student makes the change in the posted number so that it reflects how many days they have been in school and how many straws they have collected in the school day count pockets.   If students use labeled cups to hold straws, then use a school day count poster to write the days.   Laminate the poster and let students use dry-erase markers to change the number of days.

• Download a School Day Count poster that may be laminated or inserted in a sheet protector so that students may use dry erase markers to record the appropriate digits for the day's count.

Active Participation Strategy: Show Me The Answer

Look for opportunities to incorporate visual components into student responses. For example:

• Use student digit cards to have students form the largest or smallest number from those digits.   Or dictate a number and have students form the number using their digit cards.   The teacher may then ask students to hold up the digit in the hundreds place or in the ten-thousands place.   See More Place Value Activities for additional suggestions.
• Give students small response cards: even/odd, prime/composite, yes/no, area/perimeter and ask students to hold up the correct card to respond to questions.

Place Value Game

Games provide extended place value practice for students and allow them to use their conceptual understanding to develop appropriate strategies to win the game.   The best games encourage students to try out many options in search of the best solution.   This search for the best solution prompts additional practice in a highly-motivational setting. 

Place Value Game:  Students use number cards to create the largest number possible.

 Materials:

• Deck of digit cards for each set of partners (2-4 each of #0-9, depending on the level of students and the size of the numbers they will create)   Note: Spinners with #0-9 may be used instead of cards, if desired. 
• Place value mat for each player.
• Recording sheet, if desired.

Directions:

• Partner A turns over the first card and decides where to place that card on his/her place value mat.   Once the card is placed, it may not be moved.
• Partner B turns over a card and decides where to place that card on his/her place value mat.   Again, the card may not be moved once it is placed.
• Play continues with each partner turning over a card and deciding where to place it on the place value mat in hopes of building the largest number.
• When all slots are filled on the place value mats, partners compare numbers to see who created the larger number.   That partner wins a point for the round.
• Partners record both numbers on their recording sheet and circle the larger number
• Students clear their mats, shuffle the cards and play additional rounds, as time allows. 

Variations:   Students try to form numbers to meet specified criteria (which will vary from these suggestions, based on the number of digits used): 

• Students try to form the smallest number.
• Students try to form a number that is closest to 500 (or 2000 or...)
• Students try to form a number that is less than 1000.
• Students form numbers and earn a different number of points, depending on the range within which the number falls (e.g. 1 point for numbers from 0-500, 2 points for numbers from 501-1000, etc.) 

Game Day: Number Line-Up

This activity is designed to actively involve students in using place value concepts to build numbers.   Student teams are given digit cards and asked to form numbers that fit specific conditions: 

• Build the largest number.
• Build the smallest number.
• Build a number between 50,000 and 60,000.
• Build a different number between 50,000 and 60,000. 
• Build the largest number between 40,000 and 50,000.
• Build the smallest multiple of 5.
• Build an even number that is less than 25,000,
• Continue to give conditions to tailor instruction to targeted skills.

Students at their desks should play with small decks of cards so that they are also actively engaged in thinking about each prompt.   Teachers should ask students to confirm the correctness of responses and add other possibilities.  Lead student discussion and reflection on how they thought about the problem, how they devised a solution and why they know their answer is correct.

Materials:

• Download demo digit cards (large size).
• Download individual digit cards (small size).
• Read more about the Number Line-Up Game and other place value activities, including decimal place value activities.

Instructional Strategies:

• Copy enough of the individual digit cards so that all students have a set in a plastic baggie in their desks.  Use these cards frequently to prompt active participation, asking all students to respond to appropriate prompts such as what number is in the hundreds place, the thousandths place, etc.
• Copy the digit cards on a transparency and cut apart to create digit cards for the overhead.  Students may use these digit cards to explain their thinking.
• These activities are perfect for a quick do-now review at the beginning of a class period.

 Extension:

• Challenge students to develop original challenges.  They should provide the digit cards that may be used and appropriate challenge prompts.  Use student challenges in class and place them in the math center.  Be sure to label each challenge with the student's name and year they wrote it.  Siblings and friends will enjoy these challenges in future years.

Differentiation:
These activities are very easily differentiated by varying both the number of digit cards used and the difficulty level of prompts to appropriately challenge the different ability levels within the classroom. 

Number Line-Up

This activity was designed to practice place value.  In its simplest form, students with the demo digits are asked to form a specific number.  Students arrange themselves to form that number.  The teacher may then ask students what number is in the hundreds place, or the thousands place, etc. 

Ask the students to form number answers for these challenges:

• the largest number
• the smallest number
• a multiple of 25
• a multiple of 4
• an even number greater than 4000
• an odd number less than 5200
• the largest even number
• the smallest odd number
• the largest multiple of 5

Build a Number

To extend the activity, next ask students to use the digits 2,3,7, 8 to form:

• 
  
  the greatest number
• the smallest number
• a number between 3000 and 7000
• an even number
• an odd number between 2000 and 3000
• the largest even number
• the smallest odd number

Students at their desks work with small decks to digit cards to produce similar results.  Students may work individually or in pairs, rearranging their small digit cards to produce numbers to satisfy each condition.  It's best to have students working in pairs because they will "talk math" as they figure out how to rearrange their number cards AND they will also discuss how their solution is the same/different than the standing group AND whether they are both possible solutions.

Materials:  Visit Mathwire to read more about Number Line-Up and Build A Number.  There you may download both demo size and individual size digit cards to print out for use in your classroom.  I suggest that you print them on cardstock or laminate them for classroom use.  The demo digits may also be placed in sheet protectors, if desired.

Math Warm-Up Activity:  use the digit cards for quick warm-up activities in the week(s) following initial instruction.  Pose conditions that fit the level of instruction and have students quickly assemble a solution on their desks.  Students enjoy this break from pencil and paper tasks and the digit cards are an easy visual for a teacher to  check quickly as he/she walks around the room.

Differentiation:  this activity is easily differentiated by varying the number of digit cards used (the size of the numbers) and the difficulty level of the task conditions.  Teachers may also pair students to increase the likelihood of success.